Bylaws concerning the Nominating Committee:
- Article 3 of the Constitution and Article 1 of the Bylaws, within the Constitution and Bylaws.
Rules governing operation of the Committee:
The following rules were approved by the Council during its meeting of March, 2011.
- The Committee will review all suggestions from members and identify any other worthy candidates. The committee is encouraged to meet at the Annual Meeting or the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference to discuss the selection of candidates.
- The Chair will ensure that Committee members have a full list of all candidates under active consideration, a summary of the relevant sections of the Constitution (in Articles 3.1-3.7) and Bylaws (in Articles 1 and 2), and a copy of these rules.
- Nominees should be chosen to ensure that the Council is balanced with respect to field of interest, geographic representation, and demographics. Nominees for Vice-President should not reside in the same country as the next President.
- Nominees for Councilors should be chosen so that at least three of the eight nominees are not current Councilors.
- When all members of the Nominating Committee are satisfied with the list of candidates nominees to be listed on the first ballot for a Council position, the Chair will distribute ballots on which members rank the candidates for each office and the candidates for councillor.
- The Chair will schedule the second ballot only after all members have had an opportunity to exchange views in person or by mail. Members may offer comments or supplementary information on candidates who, in their opinion, ranked higher or lower than they deserve. After such discussion, the Chair will decide on the number of candidates to be included in the second ballot. Members of the Committee may call for further ballots until they are satisfied with the outcome of the voting.
- The Committee Chair should approach prospective nominees at some stage to ensure that they are willing to serve and understand their duties and the terms of candidacy and service. In particular, the Chair should tell prospective nominees that an election will be held if other candidates are nominated by members, that Council members are expected to attend official Council meetings, and that Council Members cannot be considered for medals or elected fellows during their terms of office.
- When the slate of nominees for the next Council is complete, the Chair will submit a report to the Council that lists the Committee's nominees for the next Council and documents the steps taken to ensure that the nominees were selected in accordance with the Constitution, Bylaws, and Committee rules.
- The Society Secretary will ensure that the Chair of the Nominating Committee has copies of these rules, Article 3 of the Constitution and Articles 1 and 2 of the Bylaws.
In addition, the amended schedule shown below will be appended to the rules of the Nominating Committee.
Summary of Deadlines
April 1. Committee members and Chair approved by the Council.
*June 1. Names of possible council members submitted to the Committee by Society members. Society Secretary to inform members of this deadline by announcements on the Society website and by email.
*September 1. Nominating Committee report submitted to the Council.
*October 1. Slate of nominees and their biographies and a statement from the nominee for Vice-President posted on the Society website.
December 1. This information sent to members before December 1 either by the newsletter or email.
* These three deadlines may be changed by mutual agreement between the Chair and Secretary